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The summit comes as new French president Emmanuel Macron holds his first meeting with German chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin.

France and Germany are backing European Commission proposals for a European Defence Fund which have sparked concerns in the UK over the possible creation of an EU army.

Mr Johnson played down suggestions that the other 27 EU foreign ministers might want to discuss his suggestion at the weekend that they will be required to pay a 'divorce bill' to the UK as a result of Brexit, rather than Britain paying the EU as much as 100 billion euro (£85billion) as others expect.

He suggested that any bill was unlikely to be finalised until the whole Brexit package – including new trade arrangements – was agreed.

Mr Johnson was also seen deep in conversation with Lithuanian counterpart Linas Linkevicius

'There is a kind of unity in these negotiations,' said Mr Johnson. 'I would expect all this to be done as a bundle, as a package.

'As they say in Brussels: 'Rien n'est acquis avant que tout soit acquis' – Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. We have got to look at the money, the whole thing, the trade arrangements, we have got to look at that as a package.'

The agenda for the Brussels meeting focused on the problem of illicit migration from Africa, with Mr Johnson saying it is 'vital' for countries to work together to resolve the crisis and stabilise countries such as Libya and Somalia.